Thursday, December 29, 2011
Bel Air Patch looks back at the biggest stories of the year.
A murder, an earthquake and a hurricane converged on the Bel Air area during the month of August. A 29-year-old Bel Air man was fatally stabbed inside his apartment on Aug. 5. Patrick Xavier Ward, who was legally blind, was living in the 900 block of Redfield Rd., where the crime occurred. Donnell Graham, 17, of the 200 block of Fairwood Rd., was arrested and charged in connection with the stabbing, not long after the incident. Graham is awaiting trial. Two other big stories from August 2011 were the work of Mother Nature. On Aug. 23, an earthquake centering in Mineral, VA, shook the Mid-Atlantic region. Days after the earthquake, Hurricane Irene bellowed up the coast leaving flooding and damage in her wake.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Hurricane Irene took down this large tree, which has since been cleaned up on Idlewild Road.
This large tree came crashing down as a result of two separate blows during the worst of Hurricane Irene. Here are six before and after photos of when the Bel Air Department of Public Works cleared the tree from the roadway during the worst part of the storm. Two days later, they cleared it from the scene completely.
Friday, September 2, 2011
A letter to the editor from BGE's president and CEO.
BGE has provided the following letter to the editor from president and CEO Kenneth W. DeFontes Jr. in response to outages from Hurricane Irene. It is unedited and printed in full: An Open Letter to BGE Customers: Thank You for Your Patience BGE wants to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we continue our Hurricane Irene restoration efforts. We want to assure them that we are working as safely, quickly and efficiently as possible to restore their power. Throughout Central Maryland, we have been addressing public safety issues, such as downed wires, and repairing critical infrastructure as well as repairing equipment and lines serving individual homes and businesses. BGE expects to have all power restored to those …
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The Hess Hotels Group president said her company is losing "tens of thousands" of dollars in revenue.
Pam Lytle-Hess owns three Harford County hotels, none of which have room for more guests. But the Fallston resident said Hess Hotels Group has lost “tens of thousands of dollars” in revenue. That's because while the Sleep Inn near the intersection of Interstate 95 and Maryland Route 24 in Edgewood is filled with local families without electricity due to Hurricane Irene, the nearby Best Western and Ramada are closed and without power. Four competing hotels near the same intersection are also without electricity. More than 12,000 Harford County BGE customers, and almost 150,000 in Maryland, are still without power as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. “Already we’re hit hard because of the economy and the over-building in the area, so this is like …
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Maryland has no law governing right of way when power fails and traffic lights go dark.
Hurricane Irene didn't just knock down trees and cut off power. The weekend storm that churned up the East Coast has inadvertently revealed a hole in Maryland's traffic laws, according to a regional motorist organization. Scores of intersections were left without power in the days following the weekend storm, leaving government officials to plead for motorists to treat intersections with inoperable traffic lights as four-way stops. But Maryland law does not require it. "People think we have a law but we don't," said Ragina Averella, public and government affairs manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "I was a (Baltimore City) police officer and I thought we had a law." Del. James Malone, chairman of the House subcommittee overseeing motor vehicles …
Harford County Public Schools were scheduled to begin the new school year Monday.
The start of Harford County classes has been delayed yet again for 11 schools, with the rest beginning the 2011–2012 school year Wednesday. With more than 20 county roads closed, students at the following schools will get at least one more day of summer vacation: All Harford County Public Schools staff are to report to work tomorrow, even if the school they work at is closed. Additional information: Bus transportation may not be available to students who live on closed roads. There were 28 schools without power Tuesday, but that number was cut to seven by Wednesday morning, according to Teri Kranefeld, manager of communications for the school system. Schools were scheduled to begin Monday, but damage from Hurricane Irene has prevented the …
Monday, August 29, 2011
Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Tomback said no decision has been made on opening schools.
About half of Harford County Public Schools are without power, more than 50 roads are still closed and three temporary debris drop-off sites have been opened as residents recover from Hurricane Irene. During a press conference held at the emergency operations center Monday, County Executive David Craig and other local officials outlined the county's biggest challenges less than 48 hours after the Category 1 storm passed through Maryland. Click here for locations that have dry ice. At the height of the storm, about 53,000 Harford County residents lost power and more than 100 roads were closed, Craig said. More than 30,000 BGE customers in Harford County remained without power as of 3 p.m., Monday. Additionally, seven residents were …
Downtown Bel Air residents are without power after a large tree fell Sunday morning.
Just when they thought it was over, some downtown Bel Air residents got a rude greeting Sunday morning. As Hurricane Irene made its way to the northeastern United States, strong wind gusts toppled a tree along the 300 block of Williams Street. Going down with it were electrical wires, leaving many residents without power. The Kerns, whose house is directly across from where a transformer fire burned for hours beginning around 7 a.m., said they heard at least four explosions.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
The county government building and emergency operations center are both without power.
While the Harford County government Main Street headquarters and the emergency operations center are both without power Sunday night, officials are scrambling to open as many as five debris drop-off sites this week. In addition to the Scarboro Landfill in Street and reopening the Tollgate Road yard trim and drop-off center Monday, three additional locations may be announced this week, a spokesman for the county said. The additional sites would be restricted to “vegetation drop-off" to help with cleanup from Hurricane Irene. Bob Thomas, management assistant for County Executive David Craig, said the emergency operations center has been generator-powered for most of the last 24 hours. Those issues and a number of downed trees and wires …
Hurricane Irene forced county officials to delay the first day of classes.
Harford County Public Schools will be closed Monday as a result of Hurricane Irene. The first day of classes for the new school year has been delayed as dozens of roads remain closed and thousands of homes are without power across the county. The school system will operate under code green and only essential custodial employees should report.
Eric bel air
9:15 am on Thursday, September 8, 2011
As an in-town resident, I have to agree Bel Air DPW is great there was a tree that fell over infront of my house, I called they promptly took care of it. Even during the mega-snow storm they plowed my road once every 2 hours or so and I'm not exactly on a heavily traveled road. more ›